Berea man sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison for selling heroin that resulted in fatal overdose

A Berea man was sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison for selling heroin that resulted in a fatal overdose last year, said Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja.

U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko sentenced Brandon Wagner to 150 months in prison.

Wagner, 43, was previously found guilty of distribution of heroin. Wagner sold heroin in March 2016 that resulted in the fatal overdose of a Lakewood man, according to court documents.

“Aggressive enforcement of the law will remain part of the solution to combating our state’s opioid epidemic,” Sierleja said. “The detectives who worked this case are to commended for their thorough investigation.”

“The crisis we have in our communities due to heroin and fentanyl is not a problem for just the addicted,” said Lakewood Police Chief Tim Malley. “The families and friends are just as intimately involved with the damage and sorrow this causes. The Lakewood Police Department will continue to investigate all of our overdose cases to hold those accountable that have participated in any way in ending someone’s life. Those selling the heroin know that fatal consequences are all too likely with what they are selling, all for a few dollars. The Lakewood Police Department will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office, and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner to hold those accountable and take them off our streets for lengthy prison sentences.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Darden following an investigation by the Lakewood Police Department and the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force. The NOLETF is a task force comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Division of Police, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the police departments of Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Lakewood, the Regional Transit Authority, Westlake and Shaker Heights. The NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiatives, which supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate or reduce drug trafficking in Ohio.